Serve and Sphinx

Maya's stomach did that horrible flip-flop thing as she stood at the edge of the padel court, clutching a borrowed racquet like it might explode. The popular kids were already paired up, laughing in that effortless way that made everything else feel like trying to speak a language she'd barely studied.

"You can partner with Jake," Chloe called out, flipping her perfect hair. "He's not terrible."

Jake, who was currently wrestling with Chloe's golden retriever, a massive teddy **bear** of a **dog** that had decided his shoe was a chew toy. The dog barked joyfully as Jake finally freed his sneaker, looking up with sheepish grin.

"Sorry," he said, jogging over. "Buster thinks he's a puppy, even though he's literally the size of a small couch."

Maya's palms were sweating. This was fine. She was fine. She could totally play **padel**, a sport she'd only ever seen on TikTok, in front of everyone while wearing last season's athletic shorts.

"You good?" Jake asked, bouncing the ball between his knees like he did this every day.

"Peachy," Maya lied, her voice cracking slightly.

They lost. Badly. But something weird happened – Jake didn't make it feel like a failure. He high-fived her after every point, even the ones where she whiffed completely. When she finally connected with the ball and sent it sailing into the chain-link fence, he just laughed.

"Solid," he said. "That fence had it coming."

Afterward, they sat on the edge of the court while Chloe and her friends debated who'd made the "better plays." Buster the dog wandered over and collapsed across Maya's feet, heavy and warm like a living weighted blanket.

"Chloe's like a **sphinx**," Jake said quietly, watching his sister hold court. "All mysterious and untouchable. But she's just nervous about tryouts next week."

Maya looked at him. "She seems pretty confident."

"Yeah, well." Jake shrugged. "Everyone's fronting, right? Like you and that terrible backhand of yours – you act like you hate it, but you've got crazy power when you actually commit."

Maya's face heated up. "You saw that?"

"Dude, I'm literally standing right there." He grinned. "Same time tomorrow? We can work on your aim. And maybe bring treats for my therapist here." He nudged the sleeping **dog** with his foot.

Maya's stomach didn't flip-flop this time. She smiled, and it actually reached her eyes. "Yeah. Same time tomorrow."